


Facts and Fanfiction

by queengeek1



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Miraculous Ladybug, Original Work
Genre: English class, I would say no beta we die like men but that's not really true, Meta, No seriously this is an English paper, One-Shot, Research, School Assignment, Talking about Fanfiction, Using specific Fanfictions as examples, and their writers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:00:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23792761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queengeek1/pseuds/queengeek1
Summary: Have you ever read a book that you wished would never stop? Have you imagined what a character would be like in a different setting? If so, you are not alone. You share the same thoughts of fanfiction communities. Composed of readers, writers, and betas, fanfiction communities want a story to continue, see characters take on an adventure that would have never happened in the original story, or expand the story’s universe. These communities of fans are far-reaching and have uses outside of the computer screen.(This is literally a school assignment for English-112-821C)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 10





	Facts and Fanfiction

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ms. Forte](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Ms.+Forte).
  * Inspired by [Miraculous: Darker Origins.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20365342) by [the17thtearoom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/the17thtearoom/pseuds/the17thtearoom). 
  * Inspired by [Spellbound](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14998685) by [Lilafly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilafly/pseuds/Lilafly). 
  * Inspired by [Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/610291) by Less Wrong. 



Have you ever read a book that you wished would never stop? What about wanting a television show to have a different ending? Have you imagined what a character would be like in a different setting?

If so, then you are not alone. You share the same thoughts as people in fanfiction communities.

Fanfiction are stories written for a group of people who share an interest in a book, movie, television show, or another topic.

Composed of readers, writers, and betas, fanfiction communities want a story to continue, see characters take on an adventure that would have never happened in the original story, or expand the story’s universe. These communities of fans are far-reaching and have uses outside of the computer screen.

* * *

A remarkable example of how widespread a piece of fanfiction can become is the story [_Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality_](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108), HPMOR, which takes a scientific lens to J. K. Rowling’s magical world of _Harry Potter_. Written by Eliezer Yudkowsky under the pen name Less Wrong, _Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality_ has 122 chapters with over 600,00 words.

[ ](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108)

_Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality_ is beloved in the _Harry Potter_ fanfiction community, holding second place for [reviews](https://www.fanfiction.net/book/Harry-Potter/?&srt=3&r=10) and [favorites](https://www.fanfiction.net/book/Harry-Potter/?&srt=4&r=10). Additionally, HPMOR has the third most [follows](https://www.fanfiction.net/book/Harry-Potter/?&srt=5&r=10) in the _Harry Potter_ section.

Less Wrong's _Methods of Rationality_ has a complete [audio recording](http://www.hpmorpodcast.com/?page_id=56) and is fully posted in eight languages: [English](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108), [Russian](https://hpmor.ru/), [Italian](https://sites.google.com/site/hpeimdr/), [French](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6910226/1/Harry-Potter-et-les-M%C3%A9thodes-de-la-Rationalit%C3%A9), [Indonesian](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8933452/1/Harry-Potter-dan-Metode-Rasionalitas), [Hebrew](https://rationality.co.il/), [Ukrainian](http://xn--c1asif2i.xn--j1amh/), and [Chinese](http://hpmor.lofter.com/). The [Spanish](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9531118) and [Japanese](https://fanficfanfic.tumblr.com/) translations are still receiving updates and, [six more languages](http://www.hpmor.com/info/) have partial translations.

Just over five years after the first chapter’s initial release, _Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality_ was completed. Fans of the story decided to celebrate across the globe. In particular, one member, Habryka went above and beyond.

Stepping up to help with the celebrations, Habryka [told fans](http://www.lesswrong.com/posts/wctsqc4PvmjkEKR2J) of the story as “As many of you probably read on the HPMOR author's note last month, I am the coordinator of the HPMOR Wrap parties. Many of you have reached out to me, I put hundreds of you into contact with each other, and over 20 parties on 4 continents are now going to happen.”

Habryka later updated the post to include a list of all known parties. On four continents, fifty-four parties spanned across nineteen nations including Siberia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Spain.

The sharing platform for _Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality_ , FanFiction.net, is one of the biggest fanfiction platforms on the web.

* * *

One of the other biggest sites for fanfiction communities is Archive of Our Own. Since the platform launched [11 years ago](http://www.transformativeworks.org/archive_of_our_own/), Archive of Our Own has come to house more than [2.5 million accounts](archiveofourown.org/people/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&people_search%5Bquery%5D), which is slightly larger than the [population of Houston, Texas, in 2018](https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/houstoncitytexas/PST045218). The communities on the site span across the globe and are always growing as new users hop on daily, bringing unique stories with them. Archive of Our Own fanfiction writers' have so far written over [5.7 million stories](https://archiveofourown.org/works/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&commit=Search&work_search%5Bquery%5D=-%22original+work%22&work_search%5Btitle%5D=&work_search%5Brevised_at%5D=&work_search%5Bword_count%5D=%3E1&work_search%5B) in [72 languages](https://archiveofourown.org/works/search). 

With so many languages present on fanfiction platforms, the fact that members use fanfiction to improve on a foreign language should be no surprise. Lilafly, the writer of [_Spellbound_](archiveofourown.org/works/14998685), a fanfiction that mixes Celtic mythology with the French series _Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir_, made an often-heard statement at the start of her story: “Please keep in mind that English is my second language, so if things sound off, that's probably the reason why.”

Whether a person is writing in foreign languages or their native tongue, many writers have turned to betas for help.

Before being released, betas look over a story, highlighting for the author any misspelled words, grammar errors, or any potential story problems. At the writer’s request, betas may help with researching a story. Betas are similar to editors in the publishing world.

* * *

As fanfiction becomes more prevalent, authors of published books are coming out as having been writers of fanfiction at one point or another. Author of the book series _Princess Diaries_ , Meg Cabot, has written on [her blog](http://www.megcabot.com/2006/03/114184067156643148) about fanfiction, “I myself used to write Star Wars fan fiction…. I think writing fan fiction is a good way for new writers to learn to tell a story.”

[John Green](twitter.com/johngreen/status/260573209076830208) and [Neil Gaiman](twitter.com/neilhimself/status/936059562863550471), authors of _The Fault in Our Stars_ and _Good Omen_ , respectively, have both posted on Twitter about being fanfiction writers.

[](twitter.com/neilhimself/status/936059562863550471)

Some fanfiction writers never stop writing fanfiction. During a workshop called “So, You're a Fanfic Writer That Wants to Go Pro,” Claudia Gray briefly discusses her own time writing fanfiction, starting early on telling the audience, “I wrote a lot of AU’s, alternate universes" ([2:44)](https://youtu.be/jGM8QFqKmfc?t=161)

The discussion continues on and as Ms. Gray reaches halfway to her panel she lets slip more about her [personal experience](https://youtu.be/jGM8QFqKmfc?t=1254), "I’m not saying that I ever took a lot of time to write fanfiction when I was on a deadline for something else, but I’m not saying I did not.”

Ms. Gray later tells the crowd about fellow Star War book author, E.K. Johnston, thoughts on making fanfiction, “I would tell people not to stop writing fanfiction…I need to be able to think of it [writing] as play. I need to be able to remember that writing is fun” ([25:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGM8QFqKmfc&feature=youtu.be&t=1540)).

Both Ms. Gray and Ms. Johnston have gone on from writing free fanfiction to being paid to explore the universe of Star Wars; in essence, Ms. Gray and Ms. Johnston are still writing fanfiction, just using a different medium. 

* * *

Fanfiction writer The17thtearoom sums up the feelings of connections fanfiction communities can create at the end of the _Batman_ and _Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir_ crossover [_Miraculous: Darker Origins,_](archiveofourown.org/works/20365342/chapters/54186346) "Thank you, to everyone who… reviewed my chapters, whether it was just the first chapter… or every single chapter I released. For those of you who made it three chapters in, or who stuck it out to the bitter end, thank you… for your love, your enthusiasm, and for making a rather lonely writer feel a little less lonely, once a week, every week.… I have all of your comments and reviews and general expressions of love saved, and I will save them for the rest of my life. You were the first people to make me think that my work is appreciated, and that will stay with my [me], just as I hope the Darker Origins cast will stay with you."

Fanfiction platforms house millions of stories, but not only that, they also connect millions of members who share a love for the same stories. The wide variety of languages offers members around the world the chance to find people with the same interest and lets both readers and writers practice and hone their foreign language skills with something they already have a passion for.

Fanfiction writers can reach out to betas who may already share an enthusiasm for a character or story and will help polish the fanfiction to a higher standard for every reader who comes across the piece.

Even authors who have published original works have talked about their own times of writing fanfictions, whether that was just a stepping stone in their writing careers or a way to unwind when their original works become too stifling.

If there is a story you love and an idea you want to explore about that story, then fanfiction could be for you. Who knows? Maybe you will become the next John Green or Meg Cabot.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to everyone who read through this! I hope you all found this interesting  
> The images used are hyperlinked to the famfiction and twitter post respectively.  
> [hpmor.com](http://www.hpmor.com/info/) links to the various translations but progress statements are outdated. I checked that the links are still active and each version's completion status.  
> The [Spanish translation](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9531118) was updated April 22, 2020, and the [Japanese translation](https://fanficfanfic.tumblr.com/) was updated April 19, 2020. 


End file.
